The Breakfast Club x Drink Champs: Lil Duval

Date: February 15, 2026
Podcast: The Breakfast Club (via Drink Champs)
Hosts: DJ EFN, N.O.R.E. (Noreaga), with Lil Duval and crew

Episode Overview

This episode of Drink Champs features comedian, musician, and social media icon Lil Duval in a wide-ranging, vivacious, and hilarious conversation with hosts DJ EFN and N.O.R.E. (Noreaga). Together, they dive into Duval’s career evolution, the state of comedy, hip-hop, community loyalty, the intersection of music and stand-up, social media, and the importance of giving back. The energy is collegiate and celebratory, full of stories, inside jokes, and authentic reflections, with Duval’s crew joining in for the last segment.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

Introduction, Community, and Duvall Day

• Duvall Day: Lil Duval describes “Duvall Day” as a community event inspired by classic Florida weekends, aimed at keeping money and energy in the community. He emphasizes it’s about ecosystem and safety ("Only person that don’t make money is me.") and reflects on the event’s decade-long run (06:42–08:10).

  “Everybody get to make money and it's all stay in our community.” – Lil Duval (06:42)
  “As long as they don't shoot my shit up, I keep doing it. And it's been 10 years.” – Lil Duval (07:26)

• Camp Duval: Duval discusses his retreat/camp as a personal getaway spot and a place to vibe with friends and family, keeping it tongue-in-cheek: “and it’s for my hoes, too” (08:24–08:41).

Lil Duval on Lifestyle: Weed, Sobriety, and Podcasting

• His Weed Journey: Started smoking during promotion for a film, right on Drink Champs ("I started smoking on y’all shit, now that I think about it"). He likens weed to coffee, “I do it for a vibe” (08:47–09:28).

• Sobriety: He doesn’t drink, doesn’t like the taste or effect, and believes alcohol is a dangerous drug in the community (10:00–10:41).

  “I think liquor is the worst drug of them all. Cause everybody I know, that been really fucked up… it'd really be the alcohol.” – Lil Duval (10:34)

• Why Not Podcasting: Despite brief forays into podcasting, Duval isn’t interested in committing to a weekly show. He likes the freedom to post on his own terms, thanks to social media (11:26–12:40).

  “I came in a pocket in a certain time where I could do what the fuck I want, how I wanna do it, and I was successful at it. So I ain’t finna change.” (11:47)

• Viral Moments & Social Media: Reckons with how offhand, controversial comments go viral and why he’s careful on air (12:11–12:53).

Comedy, Evolution, and the Digital Era (14:10–19:23)

• Musical-Comedy Crossover: Lil Duval discusses blending performances, saying he can easily transition between comedy, rap, R&B, and more, catering shows as needed (14:10–15:15).

  “I could do it. Give me a mic. I could do it.” (14:43)

• Comedy’s Evolution: Addresses critique that “cancel culture” hampers comedy — he disagrees, saying comedy has simply evolved. Points to the success of online comedians and formats (Drewski, DC Young Fly), noting how stand-up is now like jazz: always around but not the main thing (15:12–16:07):

  “Stand up is like jazz now... it’s gonna always be there, but it’s just moved on” (15:34)

• OGs vs. "Internet" Comedians: Lively discussion on whether online funny people count as real comedians if they haven’t done stand-up, referencing Mike Epps, DC Young Fly (16:56–17:54).

• First Breaks: Credits Cedric the Entertainer for giving him his big break, launching him onto college tours and viral comedy before “going viral” was a thing (18:36–19:23).

  “Cedric, he put me on a dvd… that took me on all the college tours… In comedy, like most mother comedians, it take like 10, 20 years to get where you want to get. Where I came up out the door running, and I came up quick.” (18:43)

• Atlanta Roots: Describes starting stand-up in Atlanta in ‘99 at Uptown Comedy Corner, and the city claiming him despite his Florida roots (19:29–23:56).

Social Media: Growth, Collaboration, and Staying Power

• MySpace to Today: Was an early adopter of MySpace and YouTube, did some of the first skits, and collaborated with Charlamagne on the “Hood State of the Union” podcast (21:36–22:30).

• Comedy & Music Crossroads: Details how being in music videos (especially during the 2000s) was crucial for getting seen, likening 106 & Park to today’s IG or TikTok for visibility (20:05–21:28).

Bombing on Stage, the Realities of Stand-Up

• Bombing Stories: Every comic bombs—his worst was in Detroit, even when he had the #1 song (“Smile”) (24:07–25:28). Reflects on how stand-up is live trial-and-error, unlike music, where you can work out kinks in a studio (26:10–26:24).

  "Our studio is the stage. So y’all see us fail." (26:18)

Comedy Crews, Loyalty, and Lifting Others

• Building a Team: Duval prefers touring with loyal, funny friends over local openers, fostering camaraderie and helping genuine people get their shine (31:13–32:17).

• Ghostwriting in Comedy: Affirms some help with premises or punch-ups, likening joke support to songwriting or having a writers’ room, but you still have to perform (34:00–34:26).

• Joke Theft: Recognizes joke/premise theft as unavoidable, especially in the social era, and just keeps pushing his own creativity (35:21–37:12).

Reflections on Fame, Legacy, and Giving Back

• Staying True: Emphasizes not chasing mainstream, non-Black awards, caring more for flowers from the community itself (30:11–30:58).

  “Stuff like this I love more than like, I've never wanted, I've never cared about Oscars and none of that. I've always… cared about our community more” (30:13)

• Flowers and Mentorship: The show pauses to literally give Lil Duval his "flowers" and highlight his impact (30:00–30:58).

• Platform Building: Talks about recently producing and starring in an independent horror-comedy, Camp Duval, casting comedian friends and planning his own distribution (42:31–48:16).

The “Quick Time With Slime” Segment (Drinking Game)

(Lil Duval doesn’t drink, so his crew takes shots for him; questions fly about rap and comedy favorites.)

Notable Choices:

• Eddie Murphy over Richard Pryor: “Eddie Murphy’s the real goat. Like, ain’t nobody gonna ever do it.” (51:53)
• DC Young Fly over Drewski – "I know how solid he is." (55:02)
• Bernie Mac vs. Red Fox: Picks Red Fox for longevity and evolving as a comedian (62:09).
• In Living Color over SNL– “Never wanted to be on SNL. I wanted to be on In Living Color.” (70:02)
• Def Comedy Jam vs. Comic View: Def Comedy Jam inspired him to do stand-up, despite being on Comic View (71:14–71:26).

Humorous barbs, stories of club days, and Miami/Atlanta nostalgia pepper the game, with J Ski, Erica Dutchess, and Duval’s DJ all joining the fun.

Crew Introductions and Loyalty Stories (79:18–89:36)

• Crew members (including J Ski, Erica Dutchess, and DJ Brock) each share their journey to joining Duval’s shows, emphasizing authenticity, loyalty, and lifting up fellow talent from their own communities.

• Flying His Own Plane: Duval schools the crew on his three private planes, double-propeller safety, and the economics of flying a talent team city to city (95:43–98:09).

• Deep Sea Diving & Other Adventures: Duval discusses going scuba diving with sharks, seeing it as a tool for inspiring others from his community to think bigger (103:37–104:55).

Reflections on the Comedy-Hip-Hop Connection (121:10–128:55)

• Comedians Doing Music & Vice Versa: The hosts debate whether being a comedian is harder than being a rapper, and whether the lanes can be crossed successfully. Duval and his crew argue that, while both are subject to taste and skills, stand-up is generally harder and riskier since there’s nowhere to hide onstage.

  “Ain’t nothing harder than stand up, you know what I’m saying? Cuz you got to keep…” (126:10)

Final Philosophies, the Importance of Giving Back, Community

• Duval’s Legacy: Stresses the importance of passing down knowledge, acting as you want others to act, loving your community, and scoffing at competitive “crab in a barrel” mindsets.

  “We’ve all programmed, we so programmed to chase money. It kind of smokes our brains out to doing what we supposed to do…” (111:39)

• Paying It Forward: He’s proud that newer comedians help each other now, crediting himself and others for modeling that loyalty (112:09–112:44).

Notable Quotes & Moments

• On Outgrowing and Returning to the Hood:

  “You had so much fun in the hood, right? Then you got older… you realize you ain’t outgrowing the hood things.” – N.O.R.E. (05:51)

• On Social Media’s Impact:

  “I just evolved with the times. Y’all just ain’t caught on yet. But you did. Cause you’re doing it.” – Lil Duval (13:18)

• On Community Validation:

  “Stuff like this I love more than like, I've never wanted, I've never cared about Oscars and none of that. I've always cared about our community more…” – Lil Duval (30:13)

• On Legacy & Authenticity:

  “They used to always say, that's Duval, that's Little Duval… Just hearing Duvall… I was like, all right, I'm going to put it in my name. So whenever they say my name, it's repping my whole city.” – Lil Duval (38:00)

Important Timestamps

• [06:42] – Duvall Day explained
• [08:24] – Camp Duval and “for my hoes, too”
• [14:10] – Comedy/music crossover
• [18:36] – His big comedy break
• [24:28] – Bombing in Detroit, even with a hit record
• [30:11] – Flowers from the community > mainstream awards
• [34:00] – Ghostwriting in comedy
• [42:31] – Producing “Camp Duval” independent movie
• [51:51] – Quick Time With Slime: Eddie Murphy vs. Pryor choice
• [61:03] – Lil Baby vs. Young Thug rapid-fire
• [78:21] – Music vs. stand-up performance for Duval
• [95:43] – Owning & flying his own plane
• [104:06] – Scuba diving with sharks
• [111:37] – Emphasizing kindness and paying it forward in comedy

Episode Tone & Style

• Warm, highly conversational, packed with jokes and “insider” stories; a lot of community-building energy.
• Lil Duval is self-effacing, sometimes playfully antagonistic, and always promotes collaboration over competition.
• Much of the banter is “real talk” — practical, candid, but always with a wink and humor.

Conclusion

This episode was less a straight interview, more a celebration of Lil Duval’s journey from Florida/Atlanta stages to national stardom — and the culture of loyalty, community-strengthening, and creative evolution that follow in his wake. Listeners walk away with insight into the changing face of comedy, the business of being funny in the social age, the importance of authenticity, and the richness of giving back. The “Drink Champs” energy — and crew — amplifies all the fun.

For full stories, jokes, and more from Lil Duval and crew, tune in to the episode; this summary captures the major beats, gems, and the laughter-filled atmosphere.